


We Can Advance

by mimimatcha



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Sad Romance, Super Angst, angsty, brief mention of knights, gay and angst, izuleo, izuleo confront each other but it doesnt end well here, izuleo tragedy, leo and izumi cry A LOT, refers to Checkmate and Lionheart a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 02:50:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13021692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mimimatcha/pseuds/mimimatcha
Summary: Communication is a dangerous thing, Leo-kun.It can drive people to become closer.Or it can be the very thing that can rip them apart.





	We Can Advance

Communication is a dangerous thing, Leo-kun.

It can drive people to become closer.

Or it can be the very thing that can rip them apart.

__________________________________________________

“Senaaaaaa, why are you so engrossed in your phone? Pay attention to me!!”

The orange menace, Tsukinaga Leo, had latched himself onto me in the Knights practice room, rubbing his face all over my arm like a needy cat, and shedding just as much fur on my clean Knights outfit sleeve.  Gross. It was about the end of sunset and the other knights had gone their separate ways for the day; Naru-kun wanted to catch his “beauty sleep,” Kuma-kun had opted to walk home with Isara Mao-kun from class 2-B, and Kasa-kun was picked up early by his servants in his limousine. I was the last one left to clean up after rehearsals for today, as well as somehow escort the bouncing fur ball of a King home, or at least, wherever he saw fit to call home. Somehow, despite the _Judgement_ that happened a month ago, our stupid Ou-sama seemed blissfully unaware of the kind of position his Knights were now in. With our true leader back, I had to now give up the temporary throne that was bestowed on me, and to be honest, it was a real pain in the ass to keep up all the duties that a “King” should. However, they have not relinquished, as our old King is about as useful as a brick when it comes to paperwork and details about performances. Ou-sama just wants to sing, no, he just wants to compose as much as his body can give out; without a single breath being wasted on things he considers boring, like talking. As long as the melodies bless him, he will write, and I will handle all the grunt work, as a knight should. It’s always been this way, so it’s not like I’m not used to it.

Leo-kun rolls around on the ground carelessly, just like he did about two years ago, on a floor just like this. It’s dusty, and already I can see the gray stains setting into his white Knights uniform sleeves. Annoyed, I walk over to him from sweeping the closet, and I kick his head.

“Ou-sama, you’re being a _real eyesore_ dirtying up those expensive Knights uniforms. Quit it or I’m stripping you right here.”

Amused, Leo-kun laughs his hearty laugh, the purest sound to ever lay on human ears. It rings with life and enjoyment, like he’s riding the fastest ride in an amusement park.

“Hehe, okay Sena!! Strip me to your heart’s content then. ~”

Leo-kun says this while looking at me with a mischievous glint in his emerald cat eyes, and I’m not sure if he’s serious or if he’s playing me. However, I can certainly feel the rising heat in my face quickly before yelling at him.

“Q-quit messing around with me! I won’t actually strip you in the middle of this room?!  
What if someone’s watching or passes by? You’re _so annoying_!”

“Hahaha! Sena’s all red! Sena’s as red as Suo~’s hair! Sena you’re the color of apples it’s so funny, so interesting! Ah, red…red apples…that’s it! That’s it! That’s it! The inspiration is flowing, Sena, it’s coming out and bursting!”

Within seconds of giving me a serious look, the infamous Tsukinaga Leo-kun has lost track of his own thoughts to the will of composing. In one swift motion, he busts out a marker for each finger to compose against the walls of the room. I would normally try to stop him from damaging, yet again, the newly painted walls from his previous endeavors, however, I find myself stopping just to look at him work instead. What is at first glance a careless action of swiping across an empty classroom’s walls is actually a meticulous, thought out motion. Leo-kun’s fingers move on their own before he does, as if they bend to the will of another soul. His eyes dart back and forth between notes, thinking in split seconds how to carry the music into the next one. His focus, though distracted, is also concentrated, and the phrase, “a method to the madness” is the only perfect way to describe what he is doing, what he is. Leo-kun, ah, I should say Ou-sama, has perfected a mad way of working, the workings of a genius are only understood as “insane” after all.

_Just like how he used to._

I find myself saying that a lot in my head. “Just like how he used to.” The Leo-kun of two years ago had the free spirit of a wild animal, untainted and untamed by the world and only knew what existed in front of him. He would relentlessly attack me, hugging me with all his strength, wiggling along my legs like a dog excited to see his owner. He’d purr on my chest as I rested my hand on his fluffy fireball of a head, excitedly but calmly feeling the warmth of my beating heart.

The Leo-kun of present day was…

The Leo-kun of now is…

He is...

 _What…? That’s weird…I’m at a complete loss of words. Who_ is _the Leo-kun of now?_

The Leo-kun in front of me, humming a new song as he writes, is as energetic as he used to be…right?

_No…that’s not right…the Leo-kun from two years ago…is dead._

_Because of me, Leo-kun is dead. He has been corrupted by the world. He learned how impure music really is. He no longer composes in the same free spirit as he used to._

“Leo-kun…” I mutter, softly under my gritted teeth, squeezing my sweaty palms. Leo-kun’s ears perch up, and he turns around, completely stopping his composing trance, for the first time that I’ve ever seen, to turn towards me.

“Sena? Did you say something?” Leo-kun blinks in genuine confusion, but his eyes tell me everything. They have the look of, “You just said something only I know, didn’t you.”

“Sena?”

His gentle voice changing the atmosphere of the room, but for some reason my mouth cannot form a response to it.

Leo-kun leaps down from the desks he used to balance to reach the high ends of the walls, and walks slowly towards me.

_Idiot..! Move something! Move your mouth, your legs…!_

Before I realize it, Leo-kun is only a few centimeters aware from my face, his chapped pink lips pursed in concern, his long eyelashes reflecting the light of his green eyes, flickering specs of yellow green and deep green across his cheeks. How long as it been since I’ve seen these features so closely?

What hasn’t changed is...a lot. Below the beautiful emeralds that are Leo-kun’s eyes rest the hollow remains of the dark circles that once plagued his beautiful face. From that time so long ago, when he refused to live outside his own darkness, they still rest there on his face. His eyebrows wrinkle in a concerned gaze, one that resembles the look of giving up.

_His body is still just as gaunt…_

I try to move my mouth.

When Leo-kun rests a palm on my face, I almost shudder in revolt.

_What….?_

_Why…._

His touch used to be the only thing I desired; now I am repulsed by it.

 _No...It’s not disgust, its fear._ Fear of getting too close to be hurt again. Leo-kun, the one of now, is connecting in the same way as he always has.

However, the Leo-kun facing me pulls his hand back, shock and hurt flashing across his face. I stutter.

“Leo…..-kun?” The smallest wheeze of his name falls off my lips in an attempt to move them, and it’s clear Leo-kun hears it. However, the only thing to reciprocate...is the intense grit that curls his lips into a snarl.

“So, this is it, Sena.”

Leo-kun does not use the strange infliction he normally does on my name.

“After two years, you still hate me this much? What else can I do for you, Sena? I’ve tried, and I’m at my limit.” Leo-kun gives me the saddest smile, his eyelashes watery.

“No…t..h..at’s wrong….Leo-kun…”

“What’s wrong exactly, Sena? I never thought I’d hear my old nickname, in a situation like this.”

“What are you talking about….Leo-kun…?”

_No…stop…that’s not it._

_Don’t talk that way to him._

_This isn’t what it’s supposed to sound like._

“Do you..still think I’m not doing enough? What do you want me from me, Sena? Just answer me directly!”

Leo-kun’s voice sounds increasingly more desperate, angry, defensive, and I can only look on in horror as he continues to spit his words at me in the harshest voice he’s ever let out.

“Sena I..I love you! I’ve loved you! I’ve loved you all this time! I’ve love love love love loved you! And yet…and yet..You refuse to acknowledge my words! Am I not being serious enough now, well, am I not?!”

_No…please don’t say that…I do hear you.._

“It’s just that….Ou-sama…you’re trying so hard to act like you used to with me, it hurts? It makes me sad, okay! We aren’t the same, we just aren’t the same anymore..why do you force yourself to be so friendly with scum like me?!”

_Idiot no…! Don’t say that!_

The atmosphere grows heavy and thick in the practice room, but I can’t stop myself from babbling like a complete fool.

A complete fool.

“Force..myself? Ahaha..so Sena, you think I was faking my feelings? How little do you think of me…”

_It hurts. It stings. That stabs me so deeply, Leo-kun.._

“And to throw the ‘Ou-sama’ in there instead of my actual name like before..that really hurts me, Sena. I’m truly terrible then, Sena, because I still made you sad, even after all this time.”

_No…! No….! Stop this before it’s too late!_

“No…that’s not it….L-“

I choke. Something falls into my mouth, salty and raw. I touch my cheek, and tears stream vigorously down them, wet and pulsing in a constant flow.

“Sena.”

I look up, and what I see is the most hurtful thing I could’ve ever bore witness to. Leo-kun’s enchanting face that was now covered in tears, but a harsh frown, bearing his two fangs, accompanied it. His eyebrows were knitted together tightly, furrowing his brow, and his eyes glazed straight at me, the hurt and tears all focused on me.

“I’m hurt Sena. You see? I want to love you, but you won’t allow me. You only want fulfillment of the past, not even my efforts in the present. It hurts, Sena, it hurts.’ Make it stop,’ I want to ask, but would you really stop it?”

No…

“Sena. It hurts…it hurts Sena…”

Leo-kun hiccups between growls and tears, so much so that his words begin to obscure behind his emotions.

“My heart hurts, Sena. It hurts, it hurts..I guess I’ve changed too much for you and can’t give you what you want anymore.”

_No…no no no Leo-kun, you’re wrong…!_

“Leo-kun, no..that’s not…what I meant..”

“Sena. You said it. Don’t you realize what you said? No matter what you meant, it was said. Ah…it feels like I’ve been stabbed with glass, the inspiration bleeds out easily from gods when done by humans.”

_Don’t use your stupid god talk now, you idiot…!_

And in one swift turn, Leo-kun turns his back to me, as he steps towards the door.

I make a haste decision and grab the sleeve of his Knights jacket, giving him the most begging look I can, with a face full of tears, and a mouth ready to scream.

I whisper, “Don’t leave me.”

There is silence.

I make the ugliest, shuddering, gasp of air from holding my breath so long.

And Leo-kun, turns his head to me, taking my desperate grasp at his clothes, and dropped it to my side.

“Sena, I was never pretending. I just wanted to tell you that. That the time when it was me and you, boldly composing and singing together in the old practice room, I had fun. I really did. I didn’t force myself to have fun even today.”

Leo-kun smiles weakly at me, his eyes void of emotion, eyebrows knitted in depression, and tears drying on his cheeks.

“But Sena..I need to be alone. I’m going now. And do not look for me. The scars ache.”

With that, Ou-sama disappears out the door, footsteps fading into the dark hallway.

I sink to the floor, knees colliding with a harsh sound, my hand still outstretched and aching. My vision blurs over, like Vaseline smeared over glass. What happens next almost seems unreal, and I cannot recall if it was a dream, or reality.

_“I’m going now. And do not look for me.”_

Choking, aching, and scratching.

_“The scars ache.”_

A gurgling cry for help reaches at the back of my throat, hoarse and ugly. It comes out in a dry wheeze instead, and I’m unable to cry loudly enough for anyone to hear. It comes out like I am gasping for air underwater, drowning in my own selfishness.

I’ve hurt Leo-kun.

A cry slowly surfaces from the back of my throat, a grotesque cry fitting of a demon haunting this room instead of a human wallowing in their own agony.

A silent scream illuminates the night, with the moon almost blacked out behind two clouds.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> \- First person Izumi fic again! This time it's about confrontation  
> \- It's not a happy ending this part but I decided to do this in two chapters so keep your eyes out for that  
> \- I make a lot of references of Izuleo past based around Checkmate and Lionheart and subtle hints dropped along the way  
> \- as always, please leave a comment and kudos if you liked it and what you enjoyed about the fic in detail! I love reading comments!  
> \- thank you guys for reading the whole fic!


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